Last Christmas: A Learren Story
by manda.marie20
Summary: Lea and Darren share a Christmas holiday together.
1. Chapter 1

Last Christmas

Sunlight shone in lightly on Lea's face. She opened her heavy eyes and blinked a few times. She looked over her shoulder to see her husband, Darren, sleeping like an angel. His breathing was loud, filling up the otherwise silent room.  
>She smiled at his soft features, the way the sunshine highlighted his face and created shadows underneath his eyes and nose. His mouth hung open wide and his jaw was slightly cocked to one side. That was Lea's favorite part of every day. Waking up next to this perfect human being.<br>"Darren, baby, wake up." she whispered to him, shaking his shoulder slightly. He moaned in response, and turned away from her in the tangled sheets. Covering his head with the comforter, he made himself into a tight ball, hugging his knees to his chest.  
>"Darren," Lea said tauntingly, "It's Christmas."<br>At that, Darren shot up in bed and stared at her wide eyed. His ruffled hair was splayed out in patches, sticking off the sides of his head like weeds. Lea ran her hand through his mane, trying to fix it in the slightest bit, but it was useless.  
>Darren bolted out of bed, barley taking a second thought about grabbing his robe and slippers. He bounded out the bedroom door and ran down the stairs as Lea smiled at his inner child showing. It seemed like they were both kids, still, even though they were both in their late twenties.<br>She eventually followed his pathway down the stairs and made her way toward the living room. As soon as she stepped inside, she gasped. Stopping in her tracks, she took in the beautiful sight. Not of the presents, or the brightly lit tree, but the newly fallen snow that capped the hills outside their home. The giant window that made up the wall ahead of her framed the winter wonderland.  
>The sun reflected off the fresh blanket of snow, making everything have an angelic glow. Suddenly, she saw something pop out in her peripheral vision.<br>At first it scared her, but then she laughed loudly as she realized it was just Darren running across the snow. He glided over the smaller hills near the house, slowing on the way up. When he reached the one that was directly across from the window, he stopped and turned toward it. He flung out his arms like he was going to give someone a big hug, and fell backward, smiling.  
>Lea saw the tips of his slippers sticking out of the snow as he moved his legs back and forth. After a minute in the cold substance, he got up carefully and then admired his work. She could see him laughing at himself, and she laughed, too. Grabbing her coat that hung by the door, she trekked outside to meet up with him.<br>She ran over to him, and when she neared she didn't slow down. Gaining speed going down a steep hill, she _COULDN'T_ stop. Screaming, she plowed into Darren, knocking him down by the impact. She landed on top of him and he held her close. They laid there for a minute, taking in the world around them.  
>"Merry Christmas, Lea." Darren whispered to Lea, kissing her softly.<br>"Merry Christmas, Darren." she replied with a smile.

The fire in the fireplace crackled softly, filling the living room with light and heat. The Christmas tree was lit, displaying it's wonder to the room. All of the branches were adorned with an ornament or two, adding a certain home-y element to the tree.  
>Lea was surrounded in Darren's strong arms on the far end of the gray couch. His chin sat on the top of her head and they both had their eyes closed, seemingly sleeping. He kissed the top of her head before shifting his weight to be able support her body on his. She had her legs pulled up to her chest, sitting on his lap like a little puppy curled up in it's bed.<br>She felt at home when she was in his arms. Like nothing could harm her. She smiled slightly at the moment surrounding them. The fireplace crackling, the snow falling lightly outside, and all of the things that they had given each other.  
>"Hey, um, there's one more thing I wanna give you." Darren whispered. He kissed her head once more before moving her off his lap and getting up. Walking over to his guitar case, he told her, "This is something I've been working on for a while now."<br>He gently picked up the acoustic guitar from it's case and grabbed a white pick from one of the inside pockets. Putting the pick in his mouth, he went back over to the small seat next to the couch. He had a small piece of notebook paper in his free hand and he then set it on the coffee table in front of him.  
>He tuned a few strings before putting it on his leg to play. Taking a deep breath, Darren smiled at Lea and started to pick at some strings, creating a beautiful sound.<p>

(to be continued)


	2. Chapter 2

The fire in the fireplace crackled softly, filling the living room with light and heat. The Christmas tree was lit, displaying it's wonder to the room. All of the branches were adorned with an ornament or two, adding a certain home-y element to the tree.  
>Lea was surrounded in Darren's strong arms on the far end of the gray couch. His chin sat on the top of her head and they both had their eyes closed, seemingly sleeping. He kissed the top of her head before shifting his weight to be able support her body on his. She had her legs pulled up to her chest, sitting on his lap like a little puppy curled up in it's bed.<br>She felt at home when she was in his arms. Like nothing could harm her. She smiled slightly at the moment surrounding them. The fireplace crackling, the snow falling lightly outside, and all of the things that they had given each other.  
>"Hey, um, there's one more thing I wanna give you." Darren whispered. He kissed her head once more before moving her off his lap and getting up. Walking over to his guitar case, he told her, "This is something I've been working on for a while now."<br>He gently picked up the acoustic guitar from its case and grabbed a white pick from one of the inside pockets. Putting the pick in his mouth, he went back over to the small seat next to the couch. He had a small piece of notebook paper in his free hand and he then set it on the coffee table in front of him.  
>He tuned a few strings before putting it on his leg to play. Taking a deep breath, Darren smiled at Lea and started to pick at some strings, creating a beautiful sound.<br>"I've been alone. Surrounded by darkness, I've seen how heartless the world can be..."  
>The words flowed together as the song went on. Darren's fingers glided softly across the neck of the guitar, like it was a part of him.<br>"Ive seen you cryin'. Felt like it's hopeless. I'll always do my best to make you see. Baby you're not alone, cuz you're here with me, and nothing's ever gonna bring us down..."  
>Lea watched him as he sang the words with meaning; he really meant them. His musically revamped version of "Not Alone" made goose bumps rise across her arms.<br>"I still in trouble. I trip and stumble, tryin' to make sense of things sometimes. I look for reasons, but I don't need 'em, all I need is to look in your eyes. And I realize..."  
>Darren really got into the song, slashing his pick across the strings with a giant force. His voice faltered slightly on the top note, but he recovered effortlessly.<br>"Baby, you're not alone, cuz you're here with me. And nothing's ever gonna bring us down cuz nothing, can keep me from loving you. And you know it's true, it don't matter what will come to be, our love is all we need to make it through."  
>Lea sat in awe of her husband with her mouth slightly open. She couldn't believe that he was real, that he was HERS.<br>As he finished out the song, he played the same beautiful tab that he had first begun with. He spoke to her, playing the notes in the background.  
>"I love you, Lea. If I had known you when I wrote this song, it would have been about you. How you make me feel when you're around me. You make me smile so much, sometimes my face hurts." he chuckled with Lea. "I hope that this year has been the best for you, because it has been for me. I love you, Lea."<br>Darren began to strum chords to finish out the song with a bang. He sang the chorus again before ending on a beautiful note. He leaned over toward the couch and kissed Lea lightly.  
>She smiled in reply. "Thank you Darren. That meant so much to me." She had to wipe away a tear from her eye before coming to sit on his lap in the chair.<p>

**TBC**


End file.
